The Perfect Saturday

At my UBC REC interview, my interviewer asked me, “What is your idea of a perfect Saturday?” This question caught me off-guard because it was unlike any of the interview questions I had prepared for. But lucky for me, my daydreams during the long commute helped me come up with one. And now I’m assistant director – marketing for UBC REC! I guess I did something right.

But I started to think about this question a bit more thoughtfully because it’s similar to the question, “What would you do if you had one last day to live?” It’s not that I like to think about my death, as fun as that is, but thinking about this question gives me perspective on what I like to do the most, what is important to me, and sheds some light on what kind of person I am.

Here is my refined answer:

• Wake up with 9 hours of sleep
• Breakfast (smoked salmon, dim sum, fruit, hot milk tea) on a patio under a cloudless sky with my friends and family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) (F&F). Maybe do some light reading.
• Playing tennis followed by an afternoon run around the Seawall (I have the highest endurance on this day, by the way)
• Lunch with my F&F  of any of the following types of cuisine + dessert: Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Persian, Italian, French
• Reading a book under the sun
• Skydive and paraglide/hang glide
• Going around Venice (didn’t say I was only in Vancouver) and taking pictures with my friends
• Playing some Jenga-Scrabble or Twister-Mahjong (fusion games my friends and I came up with)
• Barbecue + keg on the beach playing volleyball and throwing a Frisbee (not at the same time) to summer tunes with my F&F
• Play and watch fireworks
• Sleep under the stars

Perhaps not time-wise realistic, unless I have a Time Turner, to a realistic question, but hey, it’s my Saturday and it’s a perfect one at that.

Looking at my to-do list, some things aren’t surprising such as food and hanging out with my friends and family. Skydiving and para/hang gliding I can also understand because I’ve never done them before. I’m not surprised that UBC isn’t on there, because as great it is, exam season has made me resentful towards the campus for a little while. But I’m surprised that the Seawall got its way in there even though I’ve only been there twice, and reading is also in there even though I haven’t been reading for enjoyment since university.

For the longest time, I disliked Vancouver. The main reason was because I never got to explore the city. Bus passes were expensive before the U-Pass came along, and my parents aren’t the exploring-type. Since going to UBC though, I’ve gotten the chance to visit many places in Vancouver and it’s not the boring place I thought I lived in, and the Olympics helped me realize that Vancouver is bursting with life. I used to want to return to Hong Kong after university and have my life there, but I’ve thought more and more to stay in Vancouver. There are still many places to explore, other than restaurants, beaches and downtown, the most common places I’m at, and a lot of my friends are here. Other than the allergies and rain, Vancouver is a great city to live.

Then there’s reading. I love to read despite not having a library that’s appropriate for people age 9 and up (I prefer to borrow from libraries). But the time I’ve had to read books I enjoy has been replaced by textbooks, not that memorizing neurotransmitters isn’t interesting. That was sarcasm by the way; text doesn’t translate well. This summer, I’m making reading a top priority and I’ve already read two books, reading one, and 2 ready to pick up from the library. Goodreads is a great website to keep track of your books. You can also check out my unupdated list.

Having this perfect day every day would be pretty exhausting. I love having lazy days to do nothing, or just watch movies all day. But my I-want-to-do-everything personality doesn’t let me let up, hence my 11-point list with me doing more than one thing at the same time, which is kind of what I’ve done for the past year. This summer will be a relaxing one because I’m not doing 5 things at once like last year, and my school year looks less hectic too.

What does your perfect Saturday look like? From whatever day of the week you’re seeing this post, think about how you can make your perfect Saturday or part of it become a reality. Share your thoughts below!

(Picture: Caitlin Lamb)